Do not be surprised if this fight goes the distance. If Lemieux cannot catch him clean early, Rubio will go into survival mode once he tastes Lemieux's power, and over the past few years he has gotten good at it.

There***8217;s no denying that 22-year-old David Lemieux has power. Twenty-four knockouts in twenty-five fights is proof enough, but Friday from the Bell Centre in Montreal and live on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights should show exactly where the local fighter stands in terms of the middleweight division as he tackles his toughest challenge to date in Marco Antonio Rubio (48-5-1 42KO) in a WBC title elimination bout. In terms of raw punching power, Lemieux firmly believes he stands at the top of the heap as far as the 160 pound division goes. ***8220;I believe I***8217;m the hardest hitter out of anybody in the rankings. ***8220;I think I hit harder than any of them, I pretty much see myself on top of the food chain for hitting.***8221;
So far that food chain has consisted mainly of the fast food variety with all but two of his fights lasting less than four rounds, but Lemieux is ready for a full twelve course meal if need be to get by the experienced Rubio who has twice fought for world titles and fought in a number of title eliminators.

***8220;It***8217;s going to be different Friday night,***8221; said Lemieux, ***8220;The result might be the same, but I think it will be different in that in the past people might have under-estimated me, but I***8217;m sure he won***8217;t under-estimate me. When I hit somebody solidly, there***8217;s a good opportunity that he doesn***8217;t recuperate by the count of eight. But I***8217;m expecting to box, I***8217;m ready to do twelve rounds, if I got to do twelve, I***8217;ll do twelve rounds, but I***8217;ve only tried that once. But if the opportunity comes (to end things early), I***8217;m going to take it and not let go of it.***8221;

Asked what exactly it***8217;s like to be hit by David Lemieux, the young slugger wasn***8217;t envious of his opponent***8217;s on the other side of the leather. ***8220;It don***8217;t feel good, that***8217;s a start, it don***8217;t feel good. I know how I hit and if I ever saw my face in front of my fist, that***8217;s not somewhere I want to be, I don***8217;t want to ruin this pretty face.***8221;